Comments on: The District 9 Debate: Excellent Film… Or Overrated?

By: Ryokun

Ryokun — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 22:51:52 +0000

Hi guys,
I only found this article by accident but I just want to add my two cents now.
After having watched district 9 a year ago I have almost completely forgotten it by now.
Not becouse it is a terrible movie, not becouse it has a lame message or even bad acting. No I have forgotten it becouse it just wasn’t that impressive overall and I would never call it a sci-fi classic. The movie starts off with a great premise but it is trying so hard to convey its message that by the end I have not really cared for the characters or even the actual story yet. What I think most people who praide the movie so much becouse of its cutural relevance forget, is that being spot on with your message does not make it a brilliant movie.

The reason why I prefer message laden sci-fi such as the new battlestar galactica and maybe even firefly (along with the movie serenity) better than district 9 is becouse they first and foremost tell a story about strong characters. Where in my opinion district 9 falls short, is that it is essentially a story about a conflict that happens to envolve characters. In the end it makes the world of district 9′s characters just as forgetable as most refugees faces you see on tv.

Don’t get me wrong it is a good movie it’s just not great, but it was darn close. Becouse by the time you finally get to see something of the heart of these characters, their motivations, their real aspects that matter, the entire movie transforms into a michael bay flick and ends on a completely over the top holywood note that left me careless for District 9 and its world.

By: dude

dude — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 21:26:46 +0000

hello

I just stumbled upon this article, and I must say it was a pleasure reading it (even with the spelling errors
which happens when you put great effort into colorful writing).

yes, I love D9 even before all the reviews and popularity, I thought it was very well done on so many levels.
even the marketing campaign was very well done.
I can’t help but watch it again and yes maybe even again.

I agree on the points in your review, we truly live in the golden age of mediocrity, an age I hope will
soon come to an end. so called reality TV must die!!!

a movie about facebook – are you effen kidding me?!!!

By: Weekend56

Weekend56 — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:16:39 +0000

I Love how those who out-of-their-minds love D9 assume that those who dislike for what ever reason dont really understand it, cant grasp its social relevance. The message was pretty thin and the script relied on heavy action sequences. Everybody got the film, everybody, no high concepts, no need for deep contemplation.

By: Jacovny

Jacovny — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:28:28 +0000

The script was riddled with cliches, the story lazily predictable, the characters lame and 2-dimensional… it was nothing we haven't seen before, just packaged differently. The packaging is impressive, but you open the box — nothing. Give it a rest fanboys — the movie stinks.

By: Jacovny

Jacovny — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:28:28 +0000

By: rev

rev — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:04:01 +0000

I’m in agreement with those who found the protagonist completely uninteresting nor compelling. We walked out about an hour into it. But yeah, nice CGI…

By: District 9 (Apparently) More Action-Packed Than We Thought - Screen Rant

District 9 (Apparently) More Action-Packed Than We Thought - Screen Rant — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:26:22 +0000

[...] about the film (as a blockbuster) was that it wasn’t just about the action, but rather had a whole lot more food for thought, along with the explosions, chases and [...]

By: vogzy

vogzy — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:44:51 +0000

Also, i want to clarify that i wrote my post because i went with my sister to see the movie, and when she came out, she was like: why didnt the aliens use the guns, why did they let the humans treat them like that? why this and that, but i also wanted to point out to the ones who hate it, instead of just asking why maybe you can think of the answer by analyzing what you just saw. And thats what i did, i didn’t really made up all the stuff i wrote, is not like i had to imagine all the answers i wrote, i just sat down and thought about what i just saw and what could have happened and made the connections myself,
Honestly after i came out of the movie, i did not think it had ONE plot hole, i didnt see any of those only until i started to read comments about it. i dont know, this movie is made from the point of view of the humans, and is shot documentary style, How was everyone in the movie supposed to know all these questions? if this movie happened in real life, would you expect someone to appear on tv and start explaining every single detail? this is the exact thing that people complained about cloverfield, and although i really Dont like the movie because of the shaky camera, i thought it was obvious that these two movies are made from our point of view, only what we can see is what we really know,

By: vogzy

vogzy — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:04:58 +0000

“”I keep reading that people are pissed-off about the (again, paraphrasing) ‘Swiss-cheese plot’ of District 9:
They never say where the aliens come from!
They never say why they came!
They build it up and then nothing happens, that alien just leaves and we don’t know what happens!
Why didn’t the Aliens just gang up and kill everybody and conquer District 9 if they were stronger!
IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!!! ARGGGHHHH!”"

ok first of all i LOVED the movie, it was amazing but,
after reading this i tought, was I the only one who got it???
sure the answers are not especifically explained or spoon fed to us but, i thought it was about making your own conclusions, But i dont know i think there is enough info on the movie and you come up with your own explanation, ok so:
They never say where the aliens come from:
well noone knows where Alien comes from or predator, it was never an issue before with other movies why would it be an issue now?
They never say why they came:
i figure out that they were going through space and for some reason ran out of fuel and food, the proof, they were starving when they came out and it took 20 years for Christopher to create new fuel, they landed here because it was the closest planet.
Why didn’t the Aliens just gang up and kill everybody and conquer District 9 if they were stronger!:
this one i also thought about, the aliens were about to die when they arrive. when humans open the ship, they were given food and “houses” for the to live in, seriously if someone is helping you when you need help the most are you gonna start killing everybody when there are problems? i think the aliens were angry at their situation, but at the same time they had nowhere to go, also they died of gunshots from our guns, so they would risk dying. humans and aliens didnt get along, but the aliens were just trying to make the best of it.

By: Kofi Outlaw

Kofi Outlaw — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 07:24:23 +0000

I think what people forget is that what humanity DOESN’T know about the Prawns is actually a part of the premise. The imposition of authority over something we are ignorant of.

By: Tweeb

Tweeb — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:43:27 +0000

Some friends and I discussed this movie & came to the conclusion that it would have been BETTER if the prawns were delicious and they were trying to save their lives from being dinner.

By: Vic Holtreman

Vic Holtreman — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:10:17 +0000

@Jeannie

Great comment – for me the movie was all about the main character’s transformation and how a boring, normal person would react in this situation. We saw most of it through his eyes, and guess what? Because HE didn’t have the answers to all these “plot holes” neither did WE. It helped us experience what he went through only knowing about as much as he did.

Vic

By: Jeannie Rodman

Jeannie Rodman — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 03:47:09 +0000

Loved this film and thought it one of the more provocative that I’ve seen in years. What the main character goes through even after being betrayed on a massive scale was agonizing to watch –esp. when reaching out to hie father-in-law and facing vivisection when he became an asset to the munitions makers. An awful view of humanity — unfortunately spot-on. Why would we assume the prawns were primitive when they were space travelers? Why all the munitions?

I was left with lots of questions. Where were they from? Did their home planet become destroyed — I think Chris intimates this — so where was he going that he could return in 3 years and rescue his people and his new “pseudo-prawn” friend?
Why were the aliens themselves unable to use their own weapons? Someone mentioned that they were left without their “queen” I guess I missed that. How did they reproduce? Where was the “mom” of Chris’ son? Where did the “alien technology” they were sifting thru the trash to find coming from? Was the ship being ransacked?

I do hope there is a sequel. I find I am spending a lot of time thinking about this film, which was a great combination of wry dark humor, razor-sharp views of the best and worst of humanity, great effects, and a feel-good ending. And, let’s face it — the cutest baby alien seen in many a year.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:43:54 +0000

@Jake Mulligan

I’m sorry, Jake, I didn’t get that, and Kofi did discuss Wikus quite a bit. Did you miss that there’s 3 pages to this review?

Regardless, Copley did a good job portraying Wikus, and I thought he was entirely believable, first as a completely reflexive bigot (who even falls back on that when he’s seeking shelter from Chris), but then growing. Damn… at work and out of time… more later.

By: Jake Mulligan

Jake Mulligan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:21:31 +0000

You didn’t even address what hurt this film for me. Ya, sure, a bunch of tech monkeys did an excellent job with thirty million dollars, but what about, as you said, the classic aspects of filmaking? Like, you know, character? The main character is inconsistent, overacted (he’s playing him as Michael Scott in one scene, Bruce Willis the next)and ultimately incomprehensible. Without a believable, relateable main character, the films essentially an exhibition for CGI.

By: james

james — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:23:26 +0000

What’s the deal with the little “bug” things in the “cok fight scene”?

By: james

james — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:20:18 +0000

“The Prawns would be considered a bio hazard. Until they studied them for disease,”

That is a good point. Could you imagine the Possibility of alien bacteria or virus(on us or them)?

On a side note.
What was up with the big bug things? Remember in the “cock fighting” scene.
What was that about?

By: Ken J

Ken J — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:32:43 +0000

@kofi

Definitely keep up updated on if you get a response. It would be interesting to hear what he had to say about it.

By: ogb

ogb — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:22:56 +0000

+1 on Drag me to Hell being in the top 5 this year.

There were definitely some emotional scenes. I laughed when he launched the pig through a wall using the gravity gun and the whole cat food thing. I also laughed a bit during “THE OFFICE” scenes in the beginning. I choked up a bit when Chris and his boy reunited. I felt some anger after what they did with the weapons testing.

That’s how I know it’s a good movie

By: iggy

iggy — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:04:29 +0000

the film was great…
if you cant figure out the message really..?
just take that message and make an amazing sci fi movie around it. and thats what d9 is.

i was all tense up with anger and fear as they were testing the weapons and then making him shot the prawn!.. great

and i kinda teared up too when he told him to run.. run to his boy..

i loved it.
still holding my number 1 this year. bastards is my number 2… drag me to hell is 3… wolverine is -100